Vacuum-railway



R. B. DAVY. VACUUM RAILWAY. APPLICATION man M Y 23, I9I9.

Patented Apr. 13, 1920.

J 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

ROberbJiZJeiJ/y .96 ATTORNEYS m ignll. L ll R. B. DAVY.

v VA CUUM R ILW Y, APPLICATION FlLEb MAY 23, 1919.

Emma Apr. 13, 19,20.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- W/T/VESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT BALLARD DAVY, 0?. HAYW'ARD, CALIFORNIA.

VACUUM-RAILWAY.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I ROBERT E. DAVY, a citizen of the United tates, and a resident of Hayward, county. of Alameda, and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vacuum-Rad ways, of which the "following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in railways, and it consists in the constructions, combinations and arrangements herein de scribed and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a railway, comprising generally, a tube with stations at intervals, the tube between the stations having a partial vacuum produced therein so that suitably-propelled cars moving therein may travel with greater speed by reason of the lessening of the air resistance.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel arrangement in the'stat'ions, whereby the car has egress and ingress to the adjacent vacuum tube portions, without admitting enough air to said tube portions to destroy the vacuum.

A. further object of the invention is to provide a novel locking arrangement for the sliding and hinged doors which form important parts of the aforesaid stations.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, reference be ing had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional view showing a part of thetube and a portion of one of the stations, with a car approaching the station,

Fig. 2 is a view=showing the tube on a smaller scale but illustrating the general arrangement more clearly,

Fig. 3 is a' side elevation of one. station end of a tube section, showing the arrangement of the hinged and sliding door with the locking means therefor,

Fig. 4: is an end elevation showing the hinged door,a'nd

'Fig. 5 is a cross section'on the line 55 of Fig. 3,showing thesliding door open.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a tube 1, the continuity-of which is interrupted at predetermined places by stations 2 where persons may get off and on of a car 3 or-a train of such cars. A partial vacuum is created and maintained in the Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr, 13 1920,

Application filed May 22, 1919. Serial No. 299,257.

tube sections between the stations'2, by means of a suitable air pump 4:, which has pipe connections 5 to the various tube sections, substantially as illustrated in Fig. 2.

The tube 1 is capable of construction in many different ways, depending altogether on particular circumstances. in order to illustrate one construction, the drawings show it to consist of an inner metallic lining 6 which is covered by suitably reinforced concrete '7.

The tube may be laid or erected on the surface of the ground, under ground or under water as the nature of the ground of the region wherein the vacuum railway is to run, ma make necessary. Rails 8 are suitably supported in the tube, these running up close tothe various doors of a station 2, where substantially air tight joints are maintained in the manner described below.

The station structure comprises a car compartment 9 at each side of the central station 2 where air is present at ordinary atmospheric pressure. There is a compartment 9 at the end of each tube 1 adjacent to the station 2, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

The compartment 9, in each case, is defined by a transversely sliding door 10, and a door 11 hinged at 12 to open into the station 2. A superstructure 13 including a portion at the top and at one side as at 14 in Fig. 5, accommodates the sliding door 10, and the sheaves 15 by means of which the door is supported on the track 16 at the top.

A handle 17 extends from-the sliding door 10, through a suitable stuliing box 18 at one side, where the operator or attendant may grasp the handle and pull the sliding door open so that the apgroaching car 3 may enter the compartment 9. in actual practice, the oints around the door 10 adjacent to the'respective sides of the tube 1, will'be provided with suitable devices for making close connections. As the tube contains rarefied air and the station airis at normal pressure, the compartment will contain the same by turns and consequently must have air tight connections to prevent leakage.

Coming now to the door 11: This door should have a relatively tight joint in the beveled end of'the'tube. The lower part of the door may either be hinged or provided with slide 19 so that the door may swing abovethe rails 8 in opening and closing.

It is preferable that the slide 19 be used, because a tight joint at the bottom may be made more easily by this means, than by employing the hinged section above spoken of.

. 25in the side of the tube 1.

Normally the forward end of the locking rod, namely that end nearest the station 2,

occupies an opening 26 in the extremity of a sliding latch or bolt 27. The bolt is carried in'guides 28 on the door 11, and as V stated, is normally positioned inthe keeper 29 so that the door 11 cannot be opened without first retracting the locking rod out of the opening 26.

The sliding door 10 also has an opening 30 for the locking rod 23, but normally the adjacent end of the locking rod does not engage the opening. The foregoing description covers the construction generally, and in order that the mechanism may be understood more clearly, attention is directed to the operation.

As before stated, the locking rod. is positioned as in Fig. 3, with one end fitting in the opening 26 across the bolt 27, preventing the sliding of the bolt in the guides 28 and consequently preventing the opening of the door 11. The other end of the locking rod is free of the opening3O in the sliding door 10, and consequently thelatter can be slid open by the operator on the approach of the car 3,

permitting'the car to enter the compart ment 9.

Thereafter the sliding door 10 is again closed. The operator now moves the'handle 24 to the left in Fig. 3, retracting the looking rod from the opening in the bolt and causing the other end to enter the opening 30 in the door 10. The door 11 can now be swung open on its hinges, but the door 10 cannot he slid open.

The act of retracting the bolt 27 finally brings apertures 31 and 32 respectively in the door' and bolt, into registration, so that an equalization of air pressure in the compartment 9 and station 2 may begin to take place. On opening the door 11, the car 3 is brought out into the station where passen gers may alight or enter. In order to get the car into the continuation of the tube 1,

' the doors 10 and 11 of the following compartment 9 are actuated in reverse orderto the above. That is to say, the hinged door 11 is opened first, then'closed and locked,

whereupon the sliding. door 10 is opened to enable the car to proceed.

T he advantages.

It is thought unnecessary to dwell at length on the advantages of this particular arrangement of railway, but in order that some of the features may be appreciated it isdesired to say that one of the most important benefits to be derived from running cars or trains 7 of cars in a tube wherein the airis partially exhausted is, extremely rapid transportation from congested commercial centers to more open and free parts of the country. I

The question of transportation is one tha gives rise to problems that are sometimes most difficult of solution. Crowding ofcars is an annoyance commonly experienced, which has many attendant evils. This crowding is produced largely by the condition that the cars are limited in speed and conseuently cannot make trips quick enough. .I y running them in a tube where they will not have to overcome great air resistance, they can be made to move much more quickly so that more trips can be made.

The provision of fresh air in each car is also a matter of consideration. Fresh air can be maintained by tanks of oXygen,'por,- tions of which are released at suitable intervals to compensate for the vitiated air inthe car. It is of course important to observe that the car is of air-tight construction, for. reasons that are now doubtless apparent. Since the pressure is always from the inside, 1 by reason of the partial vacuum in the tube, rubber cushions can be employed around the doors with good results, to maintain airtight connections. This applies both to the doors of the tube and of the'car. I

Crossing accidents are entirely avoided by the use of this system. Expansion, contraction and oxidization of the rails'is also re duced to the minimum. The rarefication of i the air in the tube discourages the growth 110 of vermin, fungus or mold. The foregoing gives a general idea of the advantages of the vacuum railway, and in conclusion it is to be borne in mind that one of theimportant features resides in the means whereby-115 cars can be removed and introduced from the tube "sections at the stations, without materially affecting the interior pressure of the tube sections.

1. A vacuum "railway; comprising a vacuum tube in a plurality of sections, and means embodied in the adjacent ends of all of the sections, enabling the egress and ingress of cars into the sections without mate- 125 rially affecting the vacuum condition therein.

2. A vacuum railway, comprising a tube divided into a plurality of sections, each having a vacuum maintained therein; and relatively-movable means defining compart- 130 ments at adjacent ends of the tube sections, enabling the egress and ingress of cars from and into said sections without destroying the vacuum conditions therein.

3. A vacuum railway, comprising a tube divided into a plurality of sections by suitably disposed stations, and including movable means defining a compartment at the adjacent end of each tube section, enabling the entrance and exit of a car into the station without destroying the vacuum conditions normallymaintained in said tube sections.

4. A vacuum railway, comprising a tube divided into a plurality of sections, with means defining a car compartment at the adjacent ends of the tube sections; said means comprising a slidable door in each tube section, a hinged door at the end of each section; means for maintaining a vacuum in the tube sections, and means operatively associated with each sliding and hinged door, preventing the opening of both at the same time.

5. A vacuum railway, comprising a vacuum tube section, provided with means defining a car compartment; said means comprising a door normally across the tube but to be opened on the approach of the car, a second door normally closing the end of the tube, and instrumentalities normally locking the second door but permitting the open ing of the first, but capable of movement to unlock the second and then look the first.

6. A vacuum railway, comprising a vacuum tube section, with means defining a car compartment; a door housing in the tube, a movable door in said housing normally across the tube, a door hinged on the end of the tube, both doors constituting said compartment forming means; means for normally locking the hinged door, and an operatively associated movable member cooperating with said locking means to prevent the opening of the hinged door without first locking the other door.

7 A vacuum railway, comprising a vacuum tube section with rails, means defining a car compartment at one end including a transversely slidable door normally across the tube, housing means for the door, supporting means therein for the door, a door hinged on the end of the tube, with means forming a tight closure below the rails, locking means for the hinged door, and a manually operated locking member cooperating with said locking means to prevent the opening of the hinged door without first locking the sliding door by means of said manually operated locking member.

8. A vacuum railway, comprising a vacuum tube section with rails, a sliding door in the tube defining one end of a car compartment, a housing for the door, suitable actuating and supporting means for the door in the housing, a hinged door at the end of the tube defining the other end of the car compartment, a slidable portion carried by the door enabling the opening of the door above the rails and making a tight joint when the door is closed, a bolt on the door with a keeper on the tube, said bolt having a locking opening and an air opening normally out of registration with a similar opening in the door, and'a manually actu; ated locking rod operatively carried by the tube, occupying said locking opening to normally prevent the opening of the hinged door, but free of the sliding door whereby it may be opened, said locking rod being movable into locking engagement with the sliding door to enable the opening of the hinged door.

ROBERT BALLARD DAVY. 

